eVTOL Weight Reduction through Additive Manufacturing of Intricate Continuous Carbon Fiber Reinforced Components

eVTOL/UAM/Orb systems are limited in capability by low-density power storage and extensive use of heavy metal components. Conventional composites cannot be used to make many of these parts, due to limits of geometric complexity. Mantis Composites uses in-house-developed carbon fiber composite printing to bring 40-90% weight savings to these parts. Mantis Composites’ parts match the mechanical performance of titanium with up to 70% weight reduction, using a system that is fast and scalable. This weight reduction can fundamentally redefine the capability of eVTOL/UAM/Orb systems. For this SBIR, Mantis Composites will use a demonstration component to prove out advantages in a broad range of eVTOL/UAM/Orb systems, and utilize a testing program to develop a qualification methodology that can be used on future parts. This work will result in a production-ready capability to save weight on eVTOL/UAM/Orb systems.